Qantas diverts Australia-London flight to avoid Iran airspace

QANTAS Airways has temporarily rerouted its direct service from Perth to London as it seeks to avoid airspace in the Middle East amid fears that Iran is planning an imminent attack on Israel.

The QF9 flight from Perth to London has been re-routed to fly via Singapore for a fuel stop in the next few days as the company monitors the situation, a Qantas spokesperson confirmed on Saturday. The QF10 return flight, as well as other paths out of London, remain unaffected.

The carrier will reach out to flyers directly if there’s any change to their bookings, and expects to be able to carry a full load of customers, according to the spokesperson.

The diversion comes as Israel braces for a direct and unprecedented attack by Iran on government targets as soon as Saturday, according to people familiar with western intelligence assessments.

A bombardment of drones and precision missiles is likely to hit within the next 48 hours, said the people, who asked not to be identified as they aren’t authorised to discuss the matter publicly.

The move has the potential to trigger an all-out regional war, with the US preparing defences and moved additional military assets to the region, while intensifying diplomatic efforts to rein in hostilities, the people said. BLOOMBERG